By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
It is their worst start since 1996, their second worst in 25 seasons. It is the first time the Sox have been swept by the Rays in a four game series. It is the first time the Sox have lost 6 straight at Fenway in 16 years. They let Tampa steal 10 bases in four games, and the Rangers steal nine in five innings (the most since 19-f’ing-13). With the Celtics and Bruins actually doing awesome in playoffs, it’s like the Red Sox took to their old ways.
But, I think it’s time to start looking at the glass half-full, not empty. And hey, we may have sucked tonight against the Rangers, but at least we did pull out a win, after losing six straight at Fenway.
So among a string of disappointments, who’s actually doing well?
Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek: Only four Red Sox are batting about .300. Two of those, are none other than bench newbies, Lowell (.333) and Varitek (.385), both of which have been close to being traded before this season. Granted, they’ve only played in 3 and 4 games, but in that time, Tek managed to hit 3 homers. Only Dustin Pedroia (.346) [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
With opening day just one week away, we’ve reached the top 5 Red Sox questions for the 2010 season in our top 20 countdown.
5. Do the Red Sox have enough in then middle of the order to win this season? (Eric; Amherst, Mass.)
Yes. They lose a lot of shots over the monster going from Bay to Cameron, and they lose plenty of rockets into left going from Lowell to Beltre. I’ll even go on a limb to say they lose a litte pop with Scutaro in the nine-hole rather than Gonzalez.
But even so, a lot of people forget who really is in this lineup: an MVP, one of the most potent bats in the AL in Kevin Youkilis, the second best hitting catcher in all of baseball (who’s finally here for a full season), and the MLB’s leading base stealer. Not to mention David Ortiz – who, even with last year’s struggles still slammed the American League’s 4th most home runs post-All Star Break with 16.
After all, with the pitching they feature, it’s not like they need a Yankee-style batting order. The days of 10-8, 15-9 wins are most likely behind us. But does this [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
After decades of sleepy Sox fans, Boston finally woke up. The last decade for the Red Sox was more exciting then the 86 years before combined. They took away to Championships and have proved themselves once again to be at the top of the MLB. Here are their 10 best moments of the decade.
10. Sox sweep Yankees 3 in a row: The beginning of the 2009 season looked very good. The Red Sox swept the Yankees three straight times, beating them 8-0. Boston was squeaky clean. Sox fans were basking in the glory, however in the second half of the season the Yankees came back to sweep us twice, and beat us 9 out of 10 games. Then they went on to win the World Series.
9. Sox trade Manny for Bay: In 2008, a very controversial decision at the time, the Sox traded their trouble-making slugger Manny Ramirez, for outfielder Jason Bay. In Bay’s debut, nervous fans were reassured when Bay scored both runs, the second one to win the game in the 12th inning. In 2009, Bay hit 36 home runs. In Manny’s last season with the Sox, he only hit 20, clearly not wanting [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor.
You all overwhelmingly voted Paul Byrd out of the Sox playoff rotation in our poll.
And he was not included in Francona’s announcement of the rotation for the first three games in the ALDS, so rest assured, (not like you were that worried anyway).
The rotation is: John Lester for game one, Josh Beckett for game two, and Clay Buccholz game three.
The three names are not surprising, for these three have been our most consistent pitchers, despite their own inconsistencies throughout the season. Beckett leads for most wins,17-6 with a 3.86  ERA. Lester, is 15-8 with a 3.41 ERA. Buccholz is 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA.
But what might be a little unexpected, is the roation order. Note: Beckett and Lester are pretty close in stats.
Since when does Beckett not pitch game one of playoffs?
Since Lester has dominated the end of the season while Beckett was shaky. Lester has won 5 of his last 6 games, and 9 of his last 12. Beckett, on the other hand, has  just come out on top in 3 of the last 6, 7 of the last 12. However, I don’t think anyone, including Francona is doubting Beckett’s reliability in play-offs to absolutely take care of business. [...]